Lancing devices (e.g., finger-pricking devices) are widely used in the medical field for applications such as skin-incisions and blood drawings. A typical lancing device has a lancet (e.g., blade, needle) and a mechanism or arrangement for its movement in two opposite longitudinal directions so as to puncture the skin of a patient and then to withdraw the lancet from the punctured skin. In some arrangements, the blade or needle is kept in a standby position until it is triggered by the user, who is typically a medical technician or personnel in charge of drawing the blood from a patient. In other arrangements, the user is required to manually set the assembly to an armed or cocked position before firing of the blade or needle can be triggered. Upon triggering, the blade or needle fires towards the skin of the patient (e.g., the finger) and makes an incision.
Insertion of a lancet into the skin of a patient is often, however, accompanied by a localized sensation of pain. In the case of people with diabetes who must test their blood glucose levels up to five or more times per day, this localized sensation of pain is only magnified. To date, efforts to minimize pain from lancing have largely focused on controlling the depth of penetration into the subject's skin at the lancing site. For example, many lancing devices include a depth-control mechanism for varying the depth of penetration, either by adjusting the distance of travel of the lancet tip, or by adjusting the position of an endcap through which the lancet protrudes during the lancing operation. While such advances in lancing device technology have, to some extent, reduced the pain associated with the lancing process, continued improvement in reducing pain and discomfort associated with the lancing process is needed.